The Miami Dolphins were probably hoping for more production from the No. 3 overall pick last year, former Oregon standout Dion Jordan, whom the Dolphins actually traded up to draft in 2013.

But finding a consistent spot for Jordan to play within their scheme proved to be more difficult than they probably expected. At least that's the hope, considering Jordan played just 339 snaps as a rookie, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), just 29 percent of the plays for the Dolphins defense.

Jordan finished his rookie season with just 26 tackles, two sacks and two passes defensed.

At 6'6" and 260 pounds, Jordan was seen as an athletic freak who could line up all over a defense during his time at Oregon.

He'd rush off the edge in a two-point, or three-point stance and would even hop out and play head-up on a slot receiver.

These are the reasons he became the No. 3 overall pick and would allow the Dolphins to get creative in finding ways to use him. At least, that was the thought.

But with his size and frame, and the fact that the Dolphins used him mostly in third-down passing situations, Jordan never made the impact most hoped he would in his first season.

Part of the reason Jordan was seeing time only in obvious passing situations was his inability to consistently anchor against the run. He needed to be more physical and learn and develop to beat offensive linemen or tight ends after engagement.

Based on recent reports out of Miami, Jordan has tried to put himself in a position to be better in anchoring against the run this season, via James Walker of ESPN.com.

No Dolphins player made a bigger physical transformation this offseason than Jordan. Miami’s 2013 first-round pick was noticeably bigger to start OTAs. Jordan said he spent a lot of time in the weight room....said his main goal was to improve his strength to better combat offensive linemen.

It'll be interesting to see how Jordan's new physique could alter what made him such a special athlete in space.

If this new muscle that Jordan added allows him to get more snaps in base defenses, but ultimately takes away from his fluidity or speed, that's a tough sell and big gamble for a player who was a fairly large investment.

One of Jordan's two sacks last season, which came against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers showed Jordan's closing speed allowed him to chase down Newton from behind and make this play.

The question becomes whether or not significant weight added would hinder Jordan from making this same kind of play this coming season.

For another example, let's look at Jordan out in coverage.

One play from Jordan last season out in space was against the New England Patriots All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Jordan is 25 yards down the field and up the sideline in making this play on Gronkowski.

It's not just about the speed to get down the field and run with Gronkowski, but Jordan was getting his hands on him off the line of scrimmage, then displayed that ability to turn and run in space that we saw from him at Oregon.

This is the kind of play that made Jordan such a highly touted NFL draft prospect.

Armando Salguero @ArmandoSalgueroFollowDion Jordan looks like he took an air pump to his arms and shoulders. Second year DE looks way bigger.11:37 AM - 27 May 2014

Would added weight and muscle still allow Jordan out in space to make this play?

These are the kinds of questions the Dolphins have obviously asked themselves when Jordan was changing his body. Maybe Jordan comes out and has that same athletic ability and can do all of the same things.

But if not, that was a big gamble to take the one thing away that made him such a special player in the first place.

If part of the muscle gain came in his quads and he worked on his lower body and core strength, then it evens things out. If he just did upper body, it could slow him down.

Even doing lower body and core, increased muscle mass adds weight to his frame. It should add strength and power, but if it was a substantial amount, his speed could definitely be affected. It all depends how he has been training. Hopefully he has been keeping up on the things that made him that great athlete we saw in the past.

If part of the muscle gain came in his quads and he worked on his lower body and core strength, then it evens things out. If he just did upper body, it could slow him down.

Even doing lower body and core, increased muscle mass adds weight to his frame. It should add strength and power, but if it was a substantial amount, his speed could definitely be affected. It all depends how he has been training. Hopefully he has been keeping up on the things that made him that great athlete we saw in the past.

If he has added strength to his legs, he has probably done so by weightlifting and if he has done so by weighlifting, more than likely he has increased capacity in his quick twitch muscles, so I highly doubt that increasing muscle mass in his lower core is going to take away from his speed and quickness.

If part of the muscle gain came in his quads and he worked on his lower body and core strength, then it evens things out. If he just did upper body, it could slow him down.

Even doing lower body and core, increased muscle mass adds weight to his frame. It should add strength and power, but if it was a substantial amount, his speed could definitely be affected. It all depends how he has been training. Hopefully he has been keeping up on the things that made him that great athlete we saw in the past.

If he has added strength to his legs, he has probably done so by weightlifting and if he has done so by weighlifting, more than likely he has increased capacity in his quick twitch muscles, so I highly doubt that increasing muscle mass in his lower core is going to take away from his speed and quickness.

It all depends on what type of weightlifting he has been doing. While lifting heavy weights indeed does promote a gain in muscle mass and strength... as a result you can be big, slow, and stiff.Quick twitch exercises are typically done with lighter weights so you can be more explosive through that motion which creates a high output of power.

The equation for this being:Power = force x velocity

i.e. you train quick to play quick.

Say you are doing a 1-3 Rep Max on the squat rack, it is probably going to be relatively slow and this will not be explosive... and as a result will not produce much "power". While it will indeed get you stronger and bulks you up, it will not help you become quick because you are training your body through a slow exercise movement.

Just saying, the increase in bulk and muscle mass in his lower body through weightlifting does not ensure he will be as quick as he was before. He has to be doing the right kind of training.

Exercises like squats, dead lifts, lunges, calf raises and hamstring curls using free weights (not machines) work out both the primary muscle and the stabilizers and in the process they work out the quick twitch muscles making them stronger and making the person more explosive. Strengthening your quick twitch muscles with heavy lifting improves power output, so when you use your quick twitch muscles, they push you harder.

Exercises like squats, dead lifts, lunges, calf raises and hamstring curls using free weights (not machines) work out both the primary muscle and the stabilizers and in the process they work out the quick twitch muscles making them stronger and making the person more explosive. Strengthening your quick twitch muscles with heavy lifting improves power output, so when you use your quick twitch muscles, they push you harder.

There is more than one way to skin that cat.

Well, yes really.In order to improve your power output, the exercise needs to be done quickly (hence, the velocity aspect which I included previously). Heavy lifting does not automatically improve power output. If it is done with a slow velocity, the power output suffers (I can give examples if you like). I'm sorry, but that is a fact. There is no sweet talking around that.

When I said "light" I did not mean to imply incredibly light if thats what you interpreted. Typically, exercises that aim to improve power include weights that are 30-40% of a 1RM (I'm sure you can find slight variance with that number.

So if you wanted to gain power through those exercises you mentioned like squats, dead lifts, lunges, you would go "lower" in weight to allow you to be explosive. This is still challenging the muscles obviously. If it is done slowly, you are more so working on improving strength, not power.

Olympic lifts, such as a clean, snatch, etc are an "explosive" lift and are some examples of power lifts. They have to be done with a weight which you can "explode" through the motion. If it is too heavy, they can't be done properly

The whole point of my previous post was that if you train slow and just lift heavy weights to add bulk to your frame, you don't automatically stay or become quick. You may become strong, which is good, but there is not a direct correlation between that and the term power.

And also, there actually are machines (look up Keiser) that can measure power output. It is actually the main purpose of them and they are probably the best at measuring it. I did not bring up the use of machines, but since you mentioned it, wanted to put that out there.